Ukrainian drones now autonomously intercepting Shaheds, DM Fedorov says

“Together, we continue to systematically strengthen the protection of the sky,” Fedorov wrote. “A Brave1 participant has created a technology that automates 95% of the entire interception process — from launching the drone to destroying the Shahed.”

The system has already undergone a successful combat test in Kharkiv Oblast. According to the official, the drone operator sees targets moving in real time, selects the target and gives the command to engage. After that, the system independently guides the drone to the target, autonomously recognizes it and homes in on the Shahed.

With support from the Brave1 defense tech cluster, the developer was able in less than a year to turn an idea and first prototype into a technology that has already proven effective in combat conditions.

Fedorov said autonomous solutions are one of the priority areas in the development of modern air defense systems. They make it possible to respond more quickly to large-scale air attacks and strengthen the protection of Ukrainian cities from enemy strikes.

Earlier, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius wrote that Ukraine wants to build an air defense system that uses artificial intelligence and could deprive Russia of one of its main advantages.

On Jan. 20, the Brave1 cluster officially announced the launch in Ukraine of the Dataroom project to test and train AI models for military use. At the initial stage, Brave1 Dataroom will focus on autonomous technologies for detecting and intercepting enemy drones. The platform is built on software solutions from Palantir.